Thursday, September 18, 2008

Wicks Made a Clean Bastard

David inked some stuff just for fun, so I thought I would share the love.

And here's the culprit who brought bland animation into the mainstream more than anyone else. I can't believe there's a book bragging about ruining cartoons.Filmation predated Dreamworks and Dic and set the standard for extreme hesitancy to make a creative statement that many religiously follow now. Filmation brought fear of fun to animation.

Filmation - one of the worst studios ever in existance. The studio being "able" to produce Tom & Jerry episodes making Gene Deitch's shorts look like masterpieces. And what they did to other classic characters like Droopy...

@John: It would be cool if you would share some depressing stories with us, since you brought that topic up.

The Filmation-Dreamworks connection is easy. Dreamworks is just a full-blown, CGI expansion of that place. Massively talented people working on artless, lifeless, expressionless shit. Same-old, same-old.

Anyhoo, I guess the Filmation book is for those of us who liked He-Man and She-Ra. I was an Archie and Brady Kids fan myself. Then again... I haven't seen those shows since I was 7. Who knows if they aged well?

John Just saw a youtube clip of Mel Blanc on Letterman, from the early eighties- he's hyping "1001 Rabbit Tales", but makes a few good points about how animation looks so much better with the old school approach, so I forgive the schilling of those theatrically released folderol, in deference. Also on youtube I saw "The Ducktators" and "The Hep Cat"- the latter a rarely seen Clampett classic from 1942. Your opinions on animation techniques are fascinating- have you posted anything about the rotoscoping process? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

My favorite Filmation childhood memory was when the Brady Kids would play their 'music', it was retraced animation of The Archies. Even the Brady Kids dog Moptop (what happened to Tiger) was doing all of Hot Dog's moves to a tee.

Too bad it took another two decades until The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse rescued Saturday morning animation.

I dunno, is it possible for horse and mule turds to be insufferably smug? Because I agree, Animaniacs was WAY too self-knowingly clever-clever for pretty much all of its run; but the in-jokey animation jibes in that particular short were absolutely spot-on. But it's also very easy to understand from the latest two posts on 'wonkiness' why that kind of self-referential cartoon scripting leaves John and others here absolutely cold.

[alias Steve Carras under my usual account:]Also, yes, the Filmation book does exist [unfortunately for us] and IS about RUINING toons. Maybe at a "Borders Book" or whatever or later at the library I might if I see it read it just to see what boasts are made. I'd love to see:---A DiC book---A Marvel/SunbowClaster/Hasbro book.

Just to see what inane boasts would be made.

And yes, John K'.'s right, Filmation DID send stuff overseas. They just kept mum about it. Can't further ruin a repuation, y'know.

A book about John K is long overdue...Again----I really hatedthe basic removal of Reggie and Veronica's nasty side of the Archies the most [and I'm just saying this as an Archie fan of the classci comic books.]

Rotgut beat me to it [in his quoe of one of your captions, JohnK]:"A Filmation book?: A book bragging about the art of RUINING cartoons" [paraphrased by me, btw].

Another important thing, re Archie:I hated how the cartoons, and to a lesser extent, the comics made rivals Betty and Veronica friends, a la what happened to Daffy and Bugs [friends, then enemies, at least one-sided on the duck's part], and likewise Daffy vs Speeddy. Betty being friends with Veronica in the cartoons, particularly, for my money, was one of the worst things to happen Archie, along with the removal of the bullying or villianous Reggie aspects. Just my two cents. And yes, the Archie/Brady Kids animation was the same! So was Fat Albert!

By the way, "I can't believe there's a book bragging about ruining cartoons" might be even BETTER stated as:"I can't believe there's ACTUALLY a book BRAGGING about RUINING CARTOONS!"

[And Filmation gave IMO a lot of the worst voice work to the guy who did my voice and Gumby, aka the late Dallas McKennon! I'd fopr hiom to be remembered as just a voice for a Filmation charatcer...btw one of the Marvel Ren and Stimpy comics had in Information booth at a shopping mall with the famous Filmation font used for the word Information LOL!

I don't think so. Josie was Hanna-Barbera but the show was an Archie comics adapation, and maybe JatP WAS intended to be Filmation. but I don't see the characters there. Warner had already closed their studio, and it would have been weird if they had planned that [they HAD planned made for TV cartoons with an Al Capp character and probaly a Keystone Kop Sat AM or movie cartoon. I'm curious to see what the late 60s WB studio would have done with characters like Josie that HB turned out having made..:)]

Anyway, just as well [and the clip would probsaly be removed, but it was a Hardy Boys one.] Saved millions of people from another stressful 1960s Saturday morning cartoon trauma.

Anyway, our taste may be subjective, BUT, there's no excuse for what Filmation was about [and IO love that Marvel Ren and Stimpy comics parody of the Filmation logo as a shopping mall Information booth in one of those 1990s comic.s]